"The ultimate bee book for bee enthusiasts and experts alike."— Bookseller Buyer's Guide.

Our favorite reference book to help us identify our local native bees and learn about where and how they live.

The Bees in Your Backyard provides an engaging introduction to the roughly 4,000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart in the field.

The book features more than 900 stunning color photos of the bees living all around us—in our gardens and parks, along nature trails, and in the wild spaces between. It describes their natural history, including where they live, how they gather food, their role as pollinators, and even how to attract them to your own backyard. Ideal for amateur naturalists and experts alike, it gives detailed accounts of every bee family and genus in North America, describing key identification features, distributions, diets, nesting habits, and more.

• Provides the most comprehensive and accessible guide to all bees in the United States and Canada• Features more than 900 full-color photos• Offers helpful identification tips and pointers for studying bees• Includes a full chapter on how to attract bees to your backyard

Joseph S. Wilson is assistant professor of biology at Utah State University and has been studying bees and wasps for more than a decade. Olivia Messinger Carril received her PhD in plant biology from Southern Illinois University and has been studying bees and the flowers they visit for nearly twenty years.

"If you have ever asked, ‘what kind of bee is that?' The Bees in Your Backyard is the book for you. It is a must-have for bee lovers of all stripes."--Wild about Ants blog

"Students as well as interested amateurs, will learn much from this excellent book, which though written by experts, presents a plethora of information in a style which is both engaging and easy to read."--Buzz about Bees

"The Bees in Your Backyard is an easy-to-use and entertaining reference that can help you identify bees you might find cruising around your flowers."--American Gardener